


Fortunate Ones

by DropDeadBread



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Violence, Other, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26898697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DropDeadBread/pseuds/DropDeadBread
Summary: When you're found in the mountains by the Van Der Linde gang, you're immediately drawn to Javier Escuella and he to you. Although you seem to spend all your time together the more time passes, neither of you seems willing to risk anything beyond flirtation.
Relationships: Javier Escuella/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly just wanted an excuse to write Javier fluff and angst and pull out some of my favourite fanfic tropes so...here it is!

You heard someone trudging through the snow towards you. It was starting to get darker out there and his figure was back lit by the setting sun when you dared to peer out of the crack in the cabin door to see him.

 _Well this is it now, that’s what you get for travelling alone like that._ You cursed yourself in your mind. The figure was getting closer and closer and you didn’t even have a gun, just a puny little hunting knife. So this was it after a day of false ends. Bad luck after bad luck. The man pushed open the door and you leapt to your feet, lunging forwards and holding the hunting knife to him anxiously. You weren’t sure if you could go through with such a thing. “stop right there!” you said this in a way you hoped was threatening enough to at least startle him but the mans reflexes were cat-like as he pointed his silver revolver at you instantly. You froze, eyes wide. You were getting pretty sick and tired of having guns pointed at you today, it did seem like lady luck had truly turned her back on you since the moment you opened your eyes that morning.

**“I said hand over all your fucking money!” the O’Driscoll had repeated himself after you had failed to hand over enough cash, he spoke with a lilting Irish accent that would probably be pleasant to the ears if he wasn’t threatening to splatter your brains into the pristine white snow on the ground.**

**“that’s all I have.” You responded, you were nearly penniless, so the men had only gotten a couple of dollars from you. They clearly were not happy about this as they looked at each other and then at the pathetic handful of dollars in their hands.**

**Maybe you can still survive this yet, “Just take the money and go. Hell, you can take the wagon too.” You didn’t know what you’d do out in the snow without that wagon, but you didn’t like your chances if you didn’t give it to them, so your mind was made up. Besides, technically it wasn’t even your wagon, rather you’d liberated it from a homestead while on your travels. You prayed this would be enough but the twisted smile on the man’s face was telling enough to worry you. The moment you saw it you felt your heart sink.**

**“Hey fellas, there’s an idea. Let’s take everything!” he lunged forward and grabbed you. You’d already been forced to drop your weapons, but you scrambled for them where they lay in the snow only to be hit in the face by the butt of a rifle. You were knocked down, consciousness fading as you heard the manic giggles of the men as if you were nothing but a toy in their sick game. You felt rope binding your wrists together as they heaved you into the back of the wagon, joking amongst themselves. “You’ll like it with us O’Driscoll boys!” one jeered. You felt blood on your face, your lip cut open although you couldn’t really feel the pain. One grabbed your face to get a better look at you but you managed to regain your senses enough to feel anger and spit blood at him. He had no right to touch you, but he only laughed “a feisty one ay?” he taunted, wiping your blood away from his face. You had robbed people yourself to survive out here on your own, but this was different. They weren’t just surviving; they were delighting in tormenting innocents. At least you wouldn’t go quietly, whatever they wanted to do to you wasn’t going to be nice and the least you could do was fight.**

He was looking at you. You noticed a scar on his neck, it seemed he had a habit of being threatened with knives the same way you had a habit of being threatened with guns. You stepped back a little but kept a hold of the knife pitifully, looking back at him. He was perhaps 5’8 with shoulder length black hair pulled into a ponytail. He was well dressed which immediately struck you as being odd in this desolate place. He had taken deadly aim but he didn’t shoot right away. First he looked at you, standing there, shaking from cold and fear. He looked at the bruises, the blood on your face and the panic in your eyes and holstered his gun, raising his hands as a sign he wouldn’t reach for it again, He felt a little guilty for scaring you like that when it was abundantly clear you had already faced an excruciatingly long day. He certainly knew what those days felt like. “we aren’t here to hurt you.” When he spoke it was with a slight accent, Mexican maybe? You couldn’t be quite sure and now wasn’t the time to make small talk about the man’s heritage. All you knew was his voice was like warm honey and it put you at ease. You clutched the knife still, in shock and unable to believe you’d really got so lucky as to find a little kindness in this world. “Dutch, there’s a girl here.” He called over his shoulder, lowering his hands once he felt sure you wouldn’t try and attack like a cornered animal. His boss could handle this better than he could, he didn’t have the same silver tongue and way with people that always worked so well for Dutch. He stepped closer and gently took the knife from you. As soon as you felt the heat of his hands on yours you released the weapon, the soft touch pulling you into reality again. “see? You’re okay.” Maybe he wasn’t the best at being so gentle, but he had a good heart and he could see you were shaken up.

You looked at him like a deer in headlights for a moment or two more, not letting go of his hands until you finally spoke “sorry…I…they robbed me but I didn’t have anything so they…I’m y/n. It’s been a bad day..” you stammered out, stepping back from him as his boss pushed in.

**When you had arrived at the small camp where the O’driscolls were hiding out like cockroaches, the cursing and struggling from you gained the attention of some of the other men at camp, they laughed too. “You got a live one there?” another Irish drawl spoke as you were dragged off of the wagon, a little bruised and worse for wear.**

**Before the man who had mocked you just a few minutes ago had a chance to speak another word a gunshot cut through the air and split his skull.**

**In these endless vacant mountains sounds like that always seemed amplified a hundred times over. You stared at the corpse for a split second and felt your stomach turn but your first instinct was to take advantage of the distraction and throw yourself down behind the wagon to shield yourself from the bullets which were now raining down in full force. The second man tried to grab hold of you again, but you kicked him back, out into the open and away from this scrap of safe cover. He was promptly shot in the head alongside his friend.**

**“Kill every last one of these bastards!” you heard a booming voice that carried even over the sound of gunfire. He must be the leader since you could hear him barking out orders just moments later “push up!”. They were getting closer. You didn’t know who these men were but they didn’t seem awfully friendly. Grabbing a knife off of the first body, you turned it in to cut the rope around your wrists clumsily, trying to crawl your way into the cover of a now empty cabin now the newcomers were approaching, doing your very best not to be spotted as you did.**

**Once you were inside you didn’t know what to do next. Behind you were the remaining O’Driscolls, although they were quickly thinning out, and in front of you was the gang of strangers. You searched around for a gun you could use to better defend yourself as you heard the hail of bullets finally cease and more voices filled the sudden quiet “Good work boys! We’ll get what we need then clear out!” you heard the leader speak again and for one shining moment felt a glimmer of hope, the tiniest little thread of promise that you’d manage to get out of another near fatal scrape with a little luck. That is until he continued “don’t forget to search the cabins!”.**

You’d never considered yourself to be terribly lucky, to be alone in this world was an unlucky thing and you'd been alone for a long time now, but maybe your luck was changing. Now you had managed to find perhaps the only outlaws across this land with a shred of morals. For the most part at least. They would help you and it wasn’t as if you had anything to give them, that was more morals than most.

It was the man who had found you in that cabin who you rode with. In too much of a daze to say much of anything, you were quiet most of the way and he didn’t try to make small talk. You held onto him in silence, he was warm to the touch and you weren’t terribly upset to be close to him after freezing up in these mountains alone for days.

“what’s your name? you never said…” You finally spoke once he helped you down off his horse. You didn’t know any of their names but you felt most interested in his and he looked a little surprised that you would put your attention on him before anyone else.

“oh look, the new girl is already sweet on the little Greaser” The blonde man who had already managed to come across as a human parasite spoke with a mocking air and a smug smile.

“Javier Escuella. Don’t bother learning his name, one of these days someone is going to slit his throat.” He looked at the man threateningly but with complete calm, he definitely wasn’t joking but Micah still chuckled as he slinked away.

Perhaps you should be more alarmed by a man who would threaten a member of his own gang like that, be it indirectly or not, but you weren’t. Maybe you were just biased since he had been good to you despite the fact you were ready to sink a knife into his throat. You weren’t the first to try and maybe he was used to it because he was already a little fond of you despite that. There was something admirable about your tenacity.

“thank you, Javier.” you gave him an uneasy smile and pressed a grateful kiss to his cheek.

“Miss! Come in and get warm, I need to speak to everyone and introduce you.” You heard Dutch call to you from the rundown cabin. It was snug and full of mostly friendly people, a welcome sight to you.

You glanced back at Javier again and swore you saw a faint blush on his cheeks and a small smile on his lips until he cleared his throat and gestured for you to go in “Go ahead, I need to deal with the horses.” How embarrassing for him to be flustered over such a thing but the gentleness and familiarity of it had caught him by surprise. It was very fortunate indeed that they had found you.


	2. Chapter 2

These mountains were cold but at least now they were no longer lonely. For the Van Der Linde gang their only choice was to wait here and hope not to be discovered before the ice began to thaw. You were unsure of where they would go when the time came but it was safer to stick with them rather than try and make it on your own again. They were a dysfunctional bunch but a kind of family none the less. You didn’t know outlaw gangs kept women and children around the way this one did but that was a good sign in your eyes. They looked after one another and you needed that.

The first week or so they had gone easy on you and asked nothing of you, but you quickly wanted to be helpful in any way you could which at the moment meant mostly sewing and chopping helping Pearson cook what little food there was. You glanced up from the clothing you were mending and smiled when you saw Javier warming himself by the fire, kicking off the snow from his boots in the doorway and giving you a nod and a smile in greeting. The both of you often tried to spend time in this cabin to keep warm in this bitter frost and you enjoyed the time spent with him. He was quiet, you had observed, it wasn’t too often he initiated conversations with others outside of passing acknowledgments, but they seemed to have nothing but pleasant things to say about him. Well, almost everyone. The likes of Micah Bell, the loathsome man who had teased you upon arrival at camp, and Bill Williamson, a slightly more harmless but almost equally odious man, both seemed to provoke him now and again. Javier did not suffer fools gladly and was more than capable of handling himself but it still rubbed you the wrong way when they said such repulsive things to him.

Even with the dwindling fire burning away in the hearth, your fingers were freezing and this made sewing even more difficult, not that it was one of your best talents anyway. "ouch," you cursed as you pricked your finger, gaining Javier's attention. Perhaps this mans presence was also the culprit since you were so easily distracted but that was neither here nor there. "Damn it, my fingers are too numb to sew." you laughed awkwardly at your own clumsiness as Javier watched you.

"your hands are still cold?" his gaze lay on you for only a short time before he approached you, holding his hands out expectantly for yours. You only gave him a befuddled look until he laughed at you again. crouching down to where you sat and taking your hands in his. "I don't bite, Chiquita." he cupped your hands in his, leaning down to help them warm more with hot breath. you noticed small scars littering the back of his hands, his fingertips calloused from guitar strings although you didn't connect those dots right away. 

"For someone who complains about the cold so much, you always seem warm." you spoke quietly, suddenly feeling shy. Not nervous or uncomfortable, just yet again confused by the way Javier drew you to him like a magnet.

"I guess I'm hot blooded." He responded with that smirk you saw whenever he teased you, stroking over your hand with his thumb gently and admiring the way your hands fit in his so nicely before he finally looked up at you "better?" you were awfully tempted to claim your hands were cold enough to get frostbite so he wouldn't let go but instead you gave him a nod and he stood to go back to his spot by the fire.

“So...not a fan of the cold?” you commented after watching him for a short while longer, a hint of amusement in your voice as you observed him huddling close to the warmth. He looked more out of place than anyone up in these mountains and you often saw him lingering by the fire until he stopped shivering.

He looked back, hands still reaching towards the heat of the flames “No, there wasn’t much snow where I come from.” He never had been able to cope too well in bitterly cold climates like this. If it were possible it made him even more homesick than ever.

The girls had told you that Javier was from Mexico, a murderer and thief like the rest of them but you were capable of seeing the shades of grey when it came to morality. Naturally, you were interested in knowing more about this man but you didn’t push them too hard to spill any of his secrets that weren’t theirs to spill. You watched him for a moment more as your mind ticked away “How did you end up here? Why did you leave?” you asked without thinking but as soon as the words had left your mouth you wondered if perhaps it was painful for him. That scar on his neck was enough to know that someone wanted him dead at least, whether it be here or Mexico.

“I had to leave. I can never go back.” He answered you but gazed into the fire, a momentary air of melancholy suddenly surrounding him before he quickly shrugged it off like he had the snow on his clothes, he understood you meant no harm by this question but his past still caused him a great deal of pain and heartache, he didn’t explain it to people quite so readily or expose his emotions even if he did have a certain soft spot for you. He looked over at you again, “but Dutch found me, he’s a great man.” The way Javier talked about Dutch, you’d think he was some kind of superhuman being. He made you a little uneasy but the gangs confidence in him was reassuring and his generosity towards you left you with no choice but to trust him along with the rest of them.

“and you found me.” It was nothing but chance that Javier had been the one to walk into that particular cabin of course but it was difficult not to feel in his debt for such kindness. “I suppose that makes you a great man too, Mr Escuella.” You smiled when you saw his reaction to this. He looked taken aback but quickly laughed like you’d told a joke although you hadn’t been joking at all.

“You can call me Javier you know Princesa.” He glanced over with a devilish smirk, conveniently glazing over your comment and hoping it was your turn to get a little flustered by his familiarity.

“and you can call me y/n, Javier.” You didn’t miss a beat. The two of you looked at one another for a moment before you both laughed, unable to take yourselves so seriously when you parried and riposted with one another in banter.

You nearly jumped when Miss Grimshaw walked in though, “Miss y/n what are you doing distracting Mr Escuella? He’s very busy you know and there’s always more work to be done if you’re bored.” She gestured for you to get up and and hand over the now mended garment. You were wise enough to know not to pick a fight with her unless absolutely necessary but when her back was turned you exchanged a look with Javier like a naughty school child who had just gotten in trouble with a teacher and he laughed. “While you were giggling away in here with Miss y/n, Dutch has been looking for you. Something about that train.” It seemed Javier wasn’t immune to Miss Grimshaw’s lectures either, the woman was such a tough old battleaxe that even Javier did as she asked and the smile left his face when she spoke to him before she swept out of the room as quickly as she had entered.

“I should go,” you backed your way to the door as you spoke, not wanting Miss Grimshaw to return with a vengeance when you moved too slowly. Before you left you were sure to add one more thing, “be safe,” maybe this was a silly thing to say to an outlaw about to set out and commit dangerous crimes and probably get into life threatening gunfights but maybe these words would bring him a little luck. At the very least it made him smile again, you were good at making him smile. Not many had such a talent


	3. Chapter 3

Moving off the mountain was a great relief for everyone but for you it mostly just filled you with uncertainty. You had been visibly anxious the entire journey down, fidgeting and lost in your thoughts when people spoke to you. Miss Grimshaw had all but given up on nagging you to work faster with how distant you were, even her incessant badgering couldn’t reach you as you sleepwalked through work. Hosea, being as good-natured as he was, had picked up on it quickly. He finally caught you alone when everyone had finished unpacking at a charming new campsite named horseshoe overlook, not that anyone had all that much to unpack. Whatever had happened to them at Blackwater seemed to be dire enough for them to flee without many of their belongings so they made quick work of setting up camp. It was a warm evening and it felt good to finally be able to sit outside without risking hypothermia.

“Are you alright miss?” he had kind eyes that matched his kind heart, he was a good man even if he was a huckster too, you knew well enough that it was possible to be both.

“I’m alright. Just…worried. I don’t know where I’ll go next.” You smiled weakly but it was clear you were still uneasy. There had been enough uncertainty for you already and you had finally found a place where you felt at home, you just weren’t sure how long you could push your luck and stay with them.

Javier stood smoking nearby and his ears pricked when he heard your conversation, doing his best to be subtle in his eavesdropping. He wanted you to stay, of course, but he didn’t want to admit to listening in so he stayed silent. The others were sure to think it hilarious that he cared one way or the other if they picked up on it.

“you know you can stay here. They’re an odd bunch but they’re good people.” Hosea said this as if it was an obvious option. He wouldn’t force anything, but he tended to get a feeling for people, and he had a good feeling about you. You’d fit in here. Javier certainly agreed with that.

“Really?” you paused, you hadn’t planned to join a gang of outlaws but a lot of things had happened that you that you had never planned, meeting these people was the most fortunate thing in a series of unsavoury events so it made sense to stay. These people could become home for you. Finally, a home. “I’d like that Mr. Matthews,” you smiled, a huge weight was lifted off your shoulders from Hosea's words alone but now you were more determined than ever to prove yourself to be useful.

“Javier! What about a song?” your conversation was interrupted when Uncle called out from the fire, it made you notice that Javier was standing nearby, still under the guise of smoking although there was little to nothing left of his cigarette which was smoldering away in his hand. He called back to Uncle, tossing away the stub of the cigarette then heading to pick up his guitar as if he hadn’t just been silently celebrating your decision to stay.

You had seen a guitar when unpacking the wagon but you didn’t know who it belonged to, suddenly you put the pieces together with those callouses on his fingertips. Javier really only seemed to pleasantly surprise you every day you spoke to him and this was another nice surprise. “You play? I didn’t know,” there wasn't much singing up in the mountains, only grumbling and the occasional quarrel. you found a place alongside many of the others who were keen to hear, eager to have a little joy once more. The fire was crackling away quietly, and you immediately stretched out your hands to feel it’s warmth.

“Of course he plays, come on Javier. We’re celebrating our new camp aint we?” Uncle was an obnoxiously loud man but you liked him all the same, he was never disagreeable from what you’d seen and although it may in part be because of the copious amounts of alcohol he consumed, he was a cheerful man and had been even in the cold of the mountains. He also was kind enough to pick up on Javier’s liking of you and clumsily try to help him impress you, assuming he was being helpful when really, he was only embarrassing Javier with his excessive flattery. Luckily for the old man, Javier only looked slightly impatient with him before he began to play softly.

Now, you were expecting some simple campfire songs, more loud than in tune and more to do with a group of slightly drunken people being given an excuse to be even louder than usual rather than evoking any emotion. This was not what you heard. When Javier began to sing your heart skipped a beat, that warm voice like honey was even more soothing when he sang. Every word was in Spanish and you didn’t even know what the song was about, but you didn’t need to. You were completely captivated by him. He finally got his wish in making you flustered when he made eye contact with you and you felt the fluttering of a thousand butterflies wings in your stomach as a blush rose to your cheeks. Silly, really but it seemed impossible not to react when he looked at you that way.

When the song finished you were in stunned silence for a moment, he played beautifully. “You could have told me you had musical talent you know, Javier.” You finally managed to speak, a little embarrassed by how utterly spellbound you had been. He had definitely been trying to show off a little even if he would deny it if anybody asked. Your cheeks were flushed but fortunately the fire light hid that at least to some degree. He smiled at you, his chestnut eyes locked on yours even if the whole camp was gathered around him.

“I know what song we need to hear next!” Karen blurted out drunkenly, bursting into song. Poor Karen, she drank far too much even on nights when you weren’t celebrating. At least the others began singing along with her so attention was drawn away from your nervous laughter and stammered words of praise.

Everyone was excitable this evening and that made camp complete chaos and it warmed your heart to see everyone so happy. Something you could especially enjoy was seeing Javier drinking along with the others. He was always so focused, sometimes even moody when he got too cold, and it was nice to see him loosen up after a long and taxing stay in the snow.

When the night had drawn on and many had already collapsed on their bedrolls or wherever they’d been sat drinking, you sat beside him and he poured you a drink, spilling a little onto the table and giving away that he'd had a little too much already.

“ah, a gentleman.” You teased, taking the drink and downing it in one swift motion, the whiskey burnt your throat but the buzz it gave was pleasant enough to keep drinking.

“Of course Chiquita! I’m always a gentleman.” You liked him drunk already. He laughed and smiled a lot more and that was bound to bring you contentment. Not everyone was so harmless after drinking so much and it was always nice to see someone who was this way rather than being an angry resentful mess. They say drunk words are sober thoughts after all so maybe this should show the measure of a man. He poured you another drink. “So, you’re staying with us?” his speech was just a little slurred and his accent thicker than usual, but you found that charming too.

You smiled, wondering if he’d even remember many details of this conversation. “What makes you think that? Were you eavesdropping or what?” you raised an eyebrow and his cocky grin vanished as he immediately realised he’d been found out.

“Eavesdropping? No, you have it all wrong Princesa.” He laughed it off surprisingly well, sinking another deep sip of his drink. He was such a good liar that if he hadn’t already outed himself you would have believed him.

“right right, A gentleman wouldn’t eavesdrop.” You secretly enjoyed these pet names he gave you but you weren’t so drunk or so foolish as to think it meant anything. You were new here, a little flirting was inevitable, especially when you teased him the way you did. You considered him a friend, perhaps a friend you had a little crush on but a friend nonetheless and a good one too, trustworthy and kind. “you’re happy I’m staying?” you were a little more serious when you asked him this.

“I’m happy you’re staying.” Javier wasn’t exactly known for being gentle but you saw a good heart in him and when he said this it was genuine. You teased him, yes, and sometimes he flirted with you but you were grateful to have a good man you could rely on to be safe and good and he was glad to have someone who treated him as well as you did. He wasn’t certain he was the man you seemed to think he was, but he wanted to look after you and now you were staying you were part of the family. No one could hurt you again.

“good. So you’ll let me help you. I’m not going to sit in camp sewing. I want to go out there.” Now was the perfect time to make him agree to such a thing. You couldn’t go alone just yet, you needed a little practice first and you didn’t know who else you could approach to be your partner in crime. He had been drinking quite a bit more than you and you were sure this could work in your favour.

Javier blinked at you, a little surprised that you would ask something like that, for a moment at least. “you know how to shoot Chiquita?” you had been tenacious even when cornered in a cabin deep in the mountains with nothing but a hunting knife. He shouldn’t be surprised that you wanted to be of more help than peeling vegetables and washing clothes.

“a little, I was alone before the O’Driscolls found me and I survived just fine. So? Come on Javier, you know I’m picking you because you’re my favourite.” Maybe the small amount of liquid courage you’d drank was helping too, making you able to disguise truths as just more playful banter.

that smirk played across his lips again and it was clear that flattery would get you everywhere in this case. “How can I say no? alright, alright, If Dutch says yes.” Of course he’d never do anything unless Dutch allowed it but you had been expecting that. “so, are you going to kiss me again to say thank you?” he was joking of course, although he had enjoyed the affection more than he’d like to admit, the whiskey was making that spill out into his flirtations as he looked at you.

You laughed at him “you ever going to let that go?” He’d made fun of you over this more than enough already, he took great joy in bringing it up with you now you were more friendly with one another. You could easily make fun of him for the way he’d smiled when you had kissed him but you decided not to, he could continue to believe you hadn’t noticed this slip in his usual strong and mysterious front, a gift from you to him. “anyway, what am I thanking you for? I’ll look after you out there, I promise.”

He laughed, leaning into you, close enough for you to smell the whiskey on him. Close enough to count every eyelash and examine every scar on his face. You noticed the fleck of amber speckled into the chestnut hue of his eyes now they were looking right into you. You had been close enough with him before now to know that he usually carried a scent of cologne and cigarettes, a scent which had become oddly comforting to you. His deep brown eyes gazed into you as your shared laughter petered off. For a moment he thought of kissing you but that would be unwise. Getting involved with people you’re stuck living with was always ill-advised, look at what happened to Abigail and John, always fighting. Even drunk he was sure that would be a poor choice and he liked you too much for that. “I’ve drunk enough for tonight. I’ll take you out tomorrow, Princesa.” He chuckled as he placed a hand at your cheek before standing to leave, the bottle with the remaining whiskey in it abandoned on the table. You waited until he was out of sight before you rested a hand where he had touched you, missing the fleeting warmth of his hand when he had touched you and unashamedly beaming and shaking your head at your own foolishness.


End file.
